NTV
All of NTV’s projects are being produced on schedule, and the production of six new, large-scale TV series has been resumed: the historical drama Za Chas do Rassveta (One Hour to Dawn) starring Konstantin Khabensky, Andrey Burkovsky and Artur Smolyaninov, as well as the sports drama Master with Igor Petrenko, Anton Vasiliyev and Anatoly Bely, which tells the story of the legendary KAMAZ Master champion team.
Meanwhile, the film crew of Pyos (Dog) has started production of its fifth season as planned. NTV has also started filming its adaptation of the Israeli hit Street Justice (Ulichnoe Pravosudie) together with KIT Film Studio, while Amedia Production started filming the medical drama Metod Mikhailova (Mikhailov’s Method) in St. Petersburg.
In addition, NTV had completed filming several series before lockdown and restrictive measures were put in place, including the new seasons of the TV series Balabol and Skoraya Pomosh (First Aid), as well as new projects such as the action-packed drama Ageev starring Andrey Smolyakov, the mystery Likhach (The Daredevil) with Nikita Panfilov, and Sluchainy Kadr (Accidental Shot) with Elena Lyadova and Mikhail Porechenkov.
In-studio sociopolitical news programs were not put on hold during lockdown, but they were filmed without audiences and the production processes had to meet strict sanitary requirements. These kinds of programs take a break during the summer and resume in the fall at the start of the new television season.
TNT, Comedy Club Production and Good Story Media
Twelve projects will go back to filming in July and August, both brand new shows and the next chapters of popular projects from Comedy Club Production (Zhenskiy Stand-Up/Women’s Stand-Up, Studiya Soyuz/Soyuz Studio, Stand Up, Odnazhdy v Rossii/Once Upon a Time in Russia, Improvizatsia/Improvisation, and Otkritiy Mikrofon/Open Mike). In the fall, TNT and Comedy Club Production will continue filming new episodes for Comedy Club and the main stages of the Tantsy (Dances) talent show.
Filming for the new seasons of Olga (Good Story Media) and SashaTanya (Comedy Club Production), as well as the premiering series Ivanko (Good Story Media) and Gusar (Comedy Club Production), has already been completed.
TV-3
TV-3 currently has six projects in production, including the continuation of the channel’s hits Vernuvshiesya (Those Who Returned), Novy Den (New Day) and Starets (Old Man), as well as new projects set to be released in 2020: Million na Mechtu (A Million for a Dream), Luchshiy Pyos (The Best Dog), and the docudrama Lubovnaya Magiya (Love Magic).
Several projects had been completed before the pandemic restrictions were lifted, and new episodes of the show Risuem Skazki (Drawing Fairy Tales) and the new season of Znaki Sudby (Signs of Fate; 1-2-3 Production, previously PREMIER Studios) are ready to air. There were other projects completed during the quarantine, mostly filmed remotely using new communication tools, including the special project Spasibo za Zhizn (Thank You for This Life), timed to Medical Worker Day on June 20, and the program Komarovsky Protiv Koronavirusa (Komarovsky Against Coronavirus).
Friday!
While the pandemic restrictions were in place, Friday! launched new formats that didn’t require a standard filming process. The travel program Oryol i Reshka (Heads or Tails) changed its format and released several special episodes called Oryol i Reshka. Sidim Doma (Heads or Tails. Staying Home), which was hosted by people from different countries who viewers how their cities had changed during the pandemic.
The channel’s broadcasts and online platforms aired Karantinki, 30-s video clips done as TV stories, in which celebrities and hosts offered life hacks and tips on how to cope with self-isolation. The channel’s promo was filmed in a home setting for the first time. Friday! employees were sent film equipment (cameras, tripods, and lighting) so that they could film the channel’s promo in their apartments.
As of today, Friday! has returned to full-scale production and will premier new shows and series, as well as air the next installments of its hits, in the upcoming television season. Filming is taking place in pavilions and open areas in Moscow and other Russian cities.
1-2-3 Production (PREMIER Studios)
All projects slated for summer production in the annual plan were put back in motion as soon as the pandemic restrictions were lifted. There are six new TV series currently in production being filmed in Moscow and other Russian cities, and they are following all safety measures that are still in place in the regions.
Super
This channel is currently filming five projects: new seasons of the series Fitness, Grand, Roditeli (Parents), Voyna Semey (Family Wars) and the sketch show Koroche (In Short), and the new season of IP Pirogova will start shooting shortly.
In June, they launched Super Aiza, a show where TV host and blogger Aiza Anokhina talks about her life. Filming continued despite the lockdown, and Aiza’s apartment became the new setting for the show, adding a very personal touch that would likely not have been possible otherwise.
Match TV
The Tinkoff Russian Premier League resumes on June 19, and Match TV films the games in accordance with all the requirements of Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian Football Union and the Russian Premier League. Sixty-four matches for the 2019–2020 season have already taken place since June 19.
Match TV crews follow all health regulations while working at the stadiums and, in addition to the general safety requirements for the games, there is a “clean zone”: a cordoned-off territory next to the pitch and the nearby facilities where the footballers stay. It is also where the channel’s broadcasters and commentator, who stays at the edge of the pitch, are located. For admission, they need a QR code from the Russian Premier League proving that they have tested negative for COVID-19 in the last 48 hours, giving them a one-time entry into the clean zone.
Moreover, Match TV and the Russian Football Union have started working on an interactive project for fans and spectators called The Digital Stadium, which will allow viewers to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the country’s football stadiums when they cannot be there in person. For example, football fans can add special intersounds while watching select games on sportbox.ru, matchtv.ru and the Match! mobile app. For live broadcasts, Match TV offers a separate audio track that is put together by a sound engineer in real time depending on what is happening on the pitch. The channel has created its own sound collection from past games for each stadium especially for this purpose. Such interactivity is particularly important when there are limitations on how many spectators can be in the stands during games.
2x2
The 2x2 Animation Studio did not stop producing original content even during the lockdown. While the country was under strict quarantine, 2x2 continued its production remotely and at its regular pace, releasing a total of 726 minutes of animation from March to July. Several projects were filmed and aired during this period, including new seasons of Burdashev 2, Show Kontent (Show Content), Doctor Psi, Banditsky Peterburger 2 (Bandit Peterburger 2), and Vremya Prokhozhdenii 3 (Time to Travel 3), as well as Videosalon Bazuka (Video Salon Bazooka), a show about film industry news which was also filmed from home. All the stars filmed their own videos and then sent in the material for editing.
KIT Film Studio
KIT Film Studio resumed its production of three large-scale projects after lockdown was lifted. Together with NTV, the studio started filming Ulichnoe Pravosudie, the Russian adaptation of the popular Israeli series Street Justice. Moreover, in July the studio started filming Chinovnitsa (The Official) for Channel One, with the support of MTS Media, and Byvshih ne Byvaet (There are no Exes), an action-packed mystery/drama for NTV.
